Over one million people in the United States live with HIV, a previously fatal viral infection that has become highly treatable. However, data suggest that people with HIV experience a greater risk for physical frailty at an earlier age than the general population. Physical frailty is burdensome on an individual and societal level. Frailty can lead to loss of independence, recurrent falls, fractures, disability, and death.
With funding from the National Institute of Nursing Research, the Frailty Policy (FraPol) team will use decision analysis modeling methods to build and validate a computer simulation model to evaluate and assess the burden of physical frailty. The model will also forecast the value of interventions that reduce the burden of physical frailty in people with HIV.
The FraPol team is led by Elena Losina, Ph.D. at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. The team includes researchers from the Medical Practice Evaluation Center (MPEC), Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), the University of Colorado School of Medicine, and Yale University.
For further information, please read our NIH grant abstract.